<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Fake by Nazunya</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24453535">Fake</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nazunya/pseuds/Nazunya'>Nazunya</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Eating Disorders, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied Suicide Attempts, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Sexual Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:55:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,956</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24453535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nazunya/pseuds/Nazunya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>Hell yeah<br/>IchiHitsu time<br/>(Do people still read IchiHitsu fanfics??????)</p><p>////ALSO JUST TO CLARIFY!!!!! THIS IS AN AU WITHOUT SOUL REAPERS &amp; STUFF!!!!!!<br/>and also imma fuck around w/ sum character ages real quick<br/>Toshiro/Karin/Yuzu: 15<br/>Ichigo:17///////</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hitsugaya Toushirou &amp; Kurosaki Ichigo, Hitsugaya Toushirou &amp; Kurosaki Karin, Hitsugaya Toushirou &amp; Kurosaki Yuzu, Hitsugaya Toushirou/Kurosaki Ichigo, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hell yeah<br/>IchiHitsu time<br/>(Do people still read IchiHitsu fanfics??????)</p><p>////ALSO JUST TO CLARIFY!!!!! THIS IS AN AU WITHOUT SOUL REAPERS &amp; STUFF!!!!!!<br/>and also imma fuck around w/ sum character ages real quick<br/>Toshiro/Karin/Yuzu: 15<br/>Ichigo:17///////</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <b><em>RINGRINGRING</em> </b>
</p><p>Ichigo groaned and blindly reached around for his phone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Who the hell is calling me at this hour?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo answered the call without bothering to check.</p><p> </p><p>"mmph..hello?"</p><p>"...Hello?" A familiar voice said somewhat quietly.</p><p>"Wha..? Toshiro?" Ichigo questioned. "what's up?"</p><p>"...Ummm...may I ask you for a favour?" Toshiro asks.</p><p>"Uh, what kind of favour?" Ichigo inquired, a bit concerned about what kind of favour Toshiro could possibly want at 2am.</p><p>"Um...I'm...currently standing right in front of your front door...and it's cold and wet out here...so I was wondering if you would maybe consider allowing me to come inside?" Toshiro asked.</p><p>"Uh..sure. I'll come let you in. Gimme a minute." Ichigo says.</p><p> </p><p>He hangs up as he gets out of bed. </p><p>He groggily made his way downstairs and quickly unlocked and opened the door.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, c'mon in," Ichigo says tiredly.</p><p>"Thank you," Toshiro says while stepping inside. He slid his muddy shoes off by the door and apologized for the mess, promising to clean it up in the morning.</p><p>"It's fine, don't worry," Ichigo reassures him. "let's go up to my room for now."</p><p>"Oh..I'm...kinda wet. Is it okay for me to walk through your house? I'll get water everywhere." Toshiro asks somewhat nervously.</p><p>"Oh, right. I can get you a towel so you can dry off a little first," Ichigo says. "I'll be back in a minute, you can wait here."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo went back upstairs and grabbed three towels from the bathroom and then returned to Toshiro.</p><p> </p><p>"Here," Ichigo offered Toshiro two of the towels, and sat the other one on the floor. "You can put your jacket on this towel."</p><p>"Okay, thank you," Toshiro removed his backpack and jacket, took the towels from Ichigo, and began trying to dry himself off.</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>After a few minutes Toshiro decided that he was probably as dry as he could get for now.</p><p> </p><p>"You done?" Ichigo asks.</p><p>"I think so. I don't think I should be dripping everywhere anymore," Toshiro says.</p><p>"What should I do with the towels?" Toshiro asks.</p><p>"Let's just put them under your jacket for now," Ichigo says while lifting the jacket.</p><p>"Okay," Toshiro says while spreading the towels out on the floor.</p><p>"Alright, we can go up to my room now," Ichigo says while turning to walk up the stairs. Toshiro picked up his backpack and followed him up the stairs and into his bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, you probably need dry clothes, right?" Ichigo says while opening his closet, "my clothes are gonna be way too big on you though..."</p><p>"Actually, I have clothes with me in my backpack," Toshiro states.</p><p>"Huh? Aren't they also going to be wet?" Ichigo asks while turning to look over at him.</p><p>"I have a waterproof backpack," Toshiro says, "good for situations like this."</p><p>"Okay then, you can go change in the bathroom then. There's towels under the sink, feel free to use them to dry off more." Ichigo says. "You can just throw your wet clothes and any towels you use in the laundry basket and I'll wash them in the morning."</p><p>"Alright, Please excuse me," Toshiro says before heading towards the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo went to the linen closet and grabbed some spare blankets and pillows while Toshiro was changing.</p><p>He returned to his bedroom and began laying the blankets on the floor for Toshiro to sleep on.</p><p> </p><p>"Not too comfortable, but it's better than nothing," Ichigo says to himself as he finishes laying down the blankets and pillows.</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro returned after about 15 minutes wearing dry clothes.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey," Ichigo greeted him.</p><p>Toshiro hummed in acknowledgement.</p><p>"I put blankets and stuff on the floor for you," Ichigo says while gesturing towards the blankets he had previously spread out on the floor.</p><p>"Oh, thank you very much," Toshiro says.</p><p> </p><p>He walked over and sat down on the blankets. He placed his backpack on the floor next to hom and slightly adjusted the position of the pillows.</p><p> </p><p>"So, uh, why are you here?" Ichigo asks.</p><p>"I'm sorry for coming over so late, and for waking you up," Toshiro says, "I'll try to not do it again in the future."</p><p>"Thank you for still letting me in," Toshiro adds.</p><p>"No problem, I just wanna know why you're here right now," Ichigo says.</p><p>"Uh, your house was nearby and it was raining?" Toshiro answers.</p><p>"O-kay, but why were you outside? Shouldn't you be at home or something?" Ichigo asks. "you live with your family, right? Won't they be worried?"</p><p>"It's not important why I was outside," Toshiro replies, "and they won't be worried. It's fine."<br/>
"For now we should probably just go to sleep," Toshiro says, "I'll leave first thing in the morning."</p><p>"Alright," Ichigo says while turning off his lights, "you don't have to leave first thing in the morning, by the way. You're free to stay as long as you want."<br/>
"I don't want to be an inconvenience," Toshiro states, "or I guess it would be more appropriate to say I don't want to be any more of an inconvenience than I'm already being."</p><p>"You're not being an inconvenience, Toshiro," Ichigo says, "I already told you it's fine, and you're always welcome at my house, even if it's really late."</p><p>"If you insist," Toshiro says, "either way, I'm tired and would like to go to sleep."<br/>
"Alright," Ichigo says, "goodnight, Toshiro."<br/>
"Goodnight, Kurosaki."</p>
<hr/><p>Ichigo woke up at 9:30am when his alarm went off.</p><p>He turned his alarm off with a groan and sat up.</p><p>He looked over to where Toshiro had been sleeping, and, much to his surprise, Toshiro was actually still asleep, even after his alarm went off.</p><p>Even though he was still tired, Ichigo decided to get up anyway.</p><p> </p><p>He followed his usual routine of getting out of bed, getting dressed, fixing his hair, and going downstairs for breakfast. The only difference was that he had to change in the bathroom instead of his bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>"Good morning, Ichigo!" Yuzu greeted Ichigo brightly.</p><p>"Good morning," Karin said much less enthusiastically.</p><p>"Good morning," Ichigo replied with a yawn.</p><p>"Did you sleep well?" Yuzu asks while serving Ichigo.</p><p>"Not exactly," Ichigo admitted, "Toshiro called me at like...2am"</p><p>"Why?" Yuzu asks.</p><p>"He wanted me to let him in," Ichigo says, "for some reason he was outside. Still not sure why he came here."</p><p>"Ah, I guess that was his stuff on the towels by the front door then?" Yuzu asks.</p><p>"I thought I recognized that stupid jacket," Karin says.</p><p>"Yep. Sorry about the mess," Ichigo says.</p><p>"It's fine! There wasn't much of a mess actually," Yuzu says, "I already cleaned it up. It didn't take too long."<br/>
"Oh, Toshiro said he'd clean it up but I guess you got to it first," Ichigo says.</p><p>"Is he still asleep or somethin?" Karin asks.</p><p>"Yeah, last time I saw him he was asleep," Ichigo says, "I was kinda surprised that he was still here honestly."<br/>
"When he wakes up I'd be happy to cook him something," Yuzu says with a smile.</p><p>"Alright, I'll let him know," Ichigo says as he continues eating.</p><p> </p><p>They continued to have a casual conversation as they ate.</p><p>By the time Ichigo finished eating, it was already 10:20am, and he still had yet to see Toshiro.</p><p>He decided to go check in on Toshiro to see if he was awake after helping Yuzu with the dishes.</p><p> </p><p>…………..……….</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo peeked into his room and saw Toshiro still asleep on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Might as well wash his clothes before he wakes up.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo started the laundry before going to the living room to watch TV with his sisters.</p>
<hr/><p>……….</p><p>Toshiro's eyes slowly opened.</p><p>He quickly sat up and looked around, not recognizing his surroundings at first.</p><p>He soon realized that he was in Ichigo's house, and let out a sigh of relief as he leaned back onto the pillows.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled out his phone to check the time, but found out that his battery had died overnight.</p><p> </p><p>He sighed as he got up to look at the clock on Ichigo's desk.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>11:03 AM</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>11:03? How did I sleep in so late? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro grabbed his backpack and went in to the bathroom to change before heading downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>…………...</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro walked down towards the stairs, hoping to be able to just make it to the door and leave, but of course he ended up running into someone before he even got halfway down the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, Toshiro," Karin greeted him, "good morning."</p><p>"...Good morning," Toshiro says.</p><p>"Were you hoping to leave without anyone noticing?" Karin asks. "cuz you wouldn't make it. Ichigo and Yuzu are both in the living room right now."<br/>
"Of course they are," Toshiro sighed.</p><p>"Your shoes are also still wet," Karin says, "wet shoes aren't very fun."<br/>
"No, they are not," Toshiro agreed, "but I can't just wait around all day for them to dry."<br/>
"Are you busy today?" Karin asks.</p><p>"Not exactly," Toshiro says, "I just need to go home."</p><p>"I see," Karin says, "good luck with that."<br/>
"Thanks," Toshiro says while passing by Karin.</p><p> </p><p>…………..</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro walked as quietly as he could over to the door, but unfortunately Ichigo spotted him as he was putting his shoes on.</p>
<hr/><p>"Oh, you're awake," Ichigo says as he gets up and walks over to him. "are you leaving already?"<br/>
"Yes, I have to go home," Toshiro says, "I'll come back for my clothes another day. Thank you for letting me sleep here and for washing my clothes."</p><p>"Do you have to leave right now?" Ichigo asks, "You still haven't told me why you actually came over."</p><p>"I know, but I really should be getting home," Toshiro says while putting on his jacket, "it seems like a good time to leave since it's not raining right now."</p><p>Ichigo sighs. "I guess, but if you wait a little longer my dad can drive you home."<br/>
"I can walk home," Toshiro says, 'plus, since I wasn't at home last night I really should get back as soon as possible."<br/>
"I guess..." Ichigo says as Toshiro opens the door. </p><p>"Uh...see ya later I guess," Ichigo says as Toshiro walks outside.</p><p>"Goodbye," Toshiro responds, "thank you again."<br/>
"No problem," Ichigo says, "let's talk later?"</p><p>"I'll try to message you if I have time," Toshiro says.</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro stepped away from the door, and Ichigo watched him as he walked away.</p><p>After Toshiro was pretty much out of sight, Ichigo shut the door and returned to the living room, sitting down on the couch with a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo still wondered why Toshiro had come over so late, and why he kept avoiding the question.</p>
<hr/><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>It was a dark and cold night, and once again Toshiro found himself wandering around outside...though it's not like he necessarily chose for this to happen.</p><p>He didn't know if getting kicked out for the night was a blessing or a curse. On one hand, he didn't have to deal with the anxiety of being at home, but on the other, he was now having to face the anxiety of not having anywhere to go. </p><p>He didn't want to have to sleep outside. He knows he's an easy target, and if the wrong person were to see him it could be all over for him.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>Toshiro limped as he slowly walked down the sidewalk.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He shivered as he walked, his thin sweater offering little protection against the cold wind.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>His small body already ached from his injuries, and the cold weather certainly wasn't helping.</p>
  <p>Though he preferred colder weather, he definitely did wish it was slightly warmer tonight.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He sighed as he walked over to a bench and slowly sat down, deciding to give his body a short break before continuing his venture.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He had no idea where he was even planning on going anyway.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He stared up at the starry night sky as he sighed, wondering if he should have just stayed by his house, but he knew he would've just been sleeping outside anyway. There was no way to convince his parents to let him back inside once they decided to kick him out. He knew he would <em>probably </em>be allowed back inside tomorrow, and even though he <em>never </em>really wanted to have to go back, there are a few things he still needs.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He closed his eyes as he thought, trying to think of somewhere he could go that would provide him with some sort of shelter and safety, but the only place he could think of was Ichigo's house.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Based on his current location, Ichigo's house would also be the closest, meaning it would most likely be his only option due to his injuries anyway.</p>
</div><p>Even if he did consider them friends, he didn't want to need help from the Kurosaki family.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>He had been there only a few days ago when it was raining, and he had shown up in the middle of the night.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He didn't want to keep showing up randomly--No, he <em>couldn't </em>show up again randomly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He knew Ichigo was waiting for a chance to question him about his reason for showing up last time, and he certainly didn't need to give Ichigo anymore reasons to worry about him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Showing up again late at night with no explanation would definitely raise more flags--especially if he showed up with <em>visible</em> injuries this time.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p><em>Maybe I can just sleep </em> <em>on this bench....</em></p>
</div><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>He sighed, knowing there was no possible way for him to actually fall asleep...not that it mattered anyway.</p>
  <p>He would probably just end up passing out sooner or later.</p>
  <p>He always did.</p>
  <p>Passing out and waking up somewhere else....</p>
  <p>Being too scared to actually fall asleep....</p>
  <p>It was always the same.</p>
  <p>He's tired.</p>
  <p>His body ached, and he felt so lonely and defeated.</p>
  <p>He knew that no mater how far he walked, he would just end up being forced back to his house.</p>
  <p>There was nothing he could do or say to stop it.</p>
  <p>He didn't want to go back home. He didn't even want to see the house again.</p>
  <p>He just wanted to feel safe and loved....and that was something he had never experienced at his house.</p>
  <p>His parents never wanted him, and he knew that. They were extremely clear about how they felt, and they always had been.</p>
  <p>Things were never going to change, and he knew that. </p>
  <p>He had been considering suicide for months, but he was scared of the consequences if he failed...again.</p>
  <p>He had attempted suicide multiple times in the past, but all of his attempts had obviously failed. He wondered if it was because he was scared or if he didn't actually want to die. He wondered if he hadn't actually put very much effort into his suicide attempts because he <em>wanted </em>to live. He really didn't know anymore.</p>
  <p>He wondered if maybe he would actually be able to do it right this time if he tried.</p>
  <p>He wondered if he could just finally put an end to everything.</p>
  <p>...........</p>
  <p>But....He doesn't want to die alone...</p>
  <p>And he still holds onto the foolish thought that things will get better, that someone will finally see the truth and save him from the hell he's currently living in.</p>
  <p>Unfortunately, he doesn't know how much longer he can handle it. He doesn't know how much more he can take.</p>
  <p>His hope is dying--Or perhaps it's already dead. </p>
  <p>He slowly stood up and began walking again, though he still had no idea where he was planning on going. </p>
  <p>He prayed that he would figure it out soon because he wasn't sure how much longer his legs would be able to support him, and the last thing he wanted was to end up collapsing in a bad location. </p>
  <p>He knew he had a bit of money with him, though he didn't have much, he would still be able to afford to buy some sort of cheap snack. He hadn't eaten for awhile, and he knew that not eating would only make things worse for him, so he changed direction and started heading towards the 24hour convenience store that was nearby. </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>If nothing else, he could just buy a snack and return to the bench he had previously been sitting on. Or alternatively, he could look for a picnic table and pull out his sketchbook so just in case someone saw him, he <em>might</em> be able to bullshit his way out of it by saying he fell asleep while drawing.</p>
  <p>...<em>Why </em>would a teenage boy be drawing late at night in a park? He had no idea. He's pretty good at making things up as he goes, so he was sure he could think of something.....<em>If </em>someone even bothered to ask, that is.</p>
  <p>I mean, it wouldn't be <em>that </em>strange, right? It would be less strange than just falling asleep on a random bench...maybe.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>He shook his head and sighed as he crossed the street. He doubted anyone would even question why he was out there in the first place.</p>
  <p>In fact, most people acted like he was invisible. They would just look away and pretend they didn't see him or hear him when he was sobbing on the ground begging for help. </p>
  <p>Everyone always looked the other way when his parents would scream at him and hit him, no matter where they were. They always pretended it wasn't happening, that his parents were good people and that he was just making things up and telling stories for attention--even when they witnessed it with their own eyes.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>..........</p>
  <p>..........</p>
  <p>..........</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Toshiro arrived at the store, but before he entered he unzipped his backpack and pulled out his wallet, checking how much money he had so he knew what was in his price range. When he entered the store, he immediately began searching for the cheapest thing he could buy. He was already exhausted so he definitely wasn't going to spend any longer in the store than he had to.</p>
  <p>Luckily for him, he was pretty familiar with where things were in this store, so it shouldn't take him too long to find something.</p>
  <p>He passed shelves with candies and other sweets on them, and for a second he almost considered caving and buying something sweet to satisfy his sweet tooth, but he knew that he should probably aim for something else since he hadn't really eaten for a few days. </p>
  <p>What was he going to buy? He had no idea. Sweets were just about the only thing that ever really sounded appetizing to him anymore.</p>
</div><hr/><p>Ichigo had been trying to talk to Toshiro ever since he came to his house, but he had been unsuccessful so far.</p><p>Toshiro's replies were getting shorter and shorter, and he kept taking more time to reply.</p><p>Ichigo was worried about Toshiro, but he wasn't sure <em>why.</em></p><p>He didn't know what it was that was making him feel so uneasy.</p><p>Obviously he would be worried about his friend that randomly showed up in the middle of the night, but he didn't know why he was worried to this extent.</p><p>Besides his texting habits and randomly showing up a few days ago, Toshiro was acting the same as he usual would. </p><p>...Well, Ichigo <em>thought </em>Toshiro was acting pretty normal, but it was hard to tell with Toshiro. Ichigo knew he was good at hiding things, and he knew that Toshiro liked keeping a lot of things about himself and his personal life secret, so he didn't actually have much to go off of.</p><p>Even so, Ichigo definitely still considered Toshiro a friend. Even if Toshiro didn't ever want to talk about himself, Ichigo would always consider him to be a close friend.</p><p> </p><p>So of course he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it...</p><p>The reason why Toshiro came over, why he had been outside in the first place, why he seemed so prepared...</p><p>It didn't make sense.</p><p>Was it just a coincidence that he had a waterproof backpack with spare clothes with him?</p><p>Did he need a waterproof backpack and spare clothing a lot?</p><p>Did he end up stuck outside a lot?</p><p> </p><p>.....</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Where is he right now?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo had messaged him over three hours ago, but hadn't received a response yet.</p><p> </p><p>He attempted to call him, hoping he would pick up, or at least get Toshiro's attention so he could reply to his texts.</p><p> </p><p>.........................</p><p>.........................</p><p>.........................</p><p> </p><p>No answer.</p><p> </p><p>He had no reason to think that Toshiro was in danger...but he couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong.</p><p>Lately everything about Toshiro felt....off.</p><p>Something about him didn't seem right, but he didn't know what.</p><p>Toshiro is a very private person, and he didn't like talking about himself, so Ichigo knew that just asking him if something was wrong wouldn't work.</p><p>He needed something...anything that he could use as proof that something was wrong...then he <em>might </em>have a chance of getting Toshiro to talk.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo sighed.</p><p> </p><p>It was already pretty late, but he was restless. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had.</p><p>He decided to take a walk in the hopes that it would clear his mind a bit.</p><p>He grabbed his phone and jacket before putting on his shoes and heading out of the house.</p><p> </p><p>.............</p><p>.............</p><p>.............</p><p> </p><p>The cold wind caused him to shiver slightly, but it was also somewhat refreshing...though if he had decided to leave his jacket at home like he was originally going to do, it wouldn't be quite as refreshing...</p><p>He aimlessly walked around for awhile before coming across a park.</p><p>The park wasn't that far away from his house, but he never really went there.</p><p>He decided that it might be nice to walk around the park for awhile.</p><p>One side of the park was full of things for children to play on, and the other side was more for walking and hiking.</p><p>He looked around for a bit, though he much preferred the side away from the play equipment.</p><p>He checked his phone, hoping that he would've received a response from Toshiro, but unfortunately he still had no new notifications.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>1:41 AM</strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He sighed as he looked at the time.</p><p>Unfortunately his walk hadn't done much to clear his mind.</p><p>There was a small 24 hour convenience store nearby, so if nothing else he could go buy a soda or a snack before going home.</p><p>He wished that Toshiro would just respond. He hadn't asked him anything personal or anything that should cause Toshiro to ignore him, so he wasn't quite sure why he hadn't responded yet. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Maybe he's just busy?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo didn't want to even think for a second that Toshiro was avoiding him, but he knew that there was a pretty high chance that Toshiro could be avoiding him due to the fact that he never actually gave Ichigo a reason for coming over so late.</p><p>Though the two of them had spoken since then, Ichigo hasn't brought it up. He knew that if Toshiro was going to tell him, he would have done it by now.</p><p>Ichigo had asked Toshiro if he would be free to hang out sometime soon, but he doesn't really think that that would cause Toshiro to ignore him. Toshiro has turned him down before in the past, and it's not really like Toshiro to ghost someone. He was usually pretty upfront about his feelings.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo walked out of the park, following the sidewalk towards the convenience store. He had given up on trying to use this walk to clear his mind.</p><p>He couldn't stop thinking about Toshiro, so he didn't feel like clearing his mind was going very well.</p><p>He checked his phone again, hoping that by some chance he would have gotten a reply since he checked a few minutes ago, but obviously he hadn't.</p><p> </p><p>He sighed again, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He knew he was probably just being paranoid. There are tons of reasons why Toshiro wasn't replying.</p><p>He could be busy...he could be asleep...his phone could be dead...</p><p>He was probably fine though, right..?</p><hr/><p>Toshiro ended up settling with a small bag of cheese crackers. It probably wasn't the best thing he could have bought, but he didn't care.</p><p>He was tired and hungry and he just wanted to sit down. He went to the check-out and payed for the crackers, thanking the cashier before leaving.</p><p> </p><p>He headed back for the park, though he was definitely struggling to keep himself up.</p><p>His legs and feet were sore, and the cold air was making him feel numb.</p><p>He wasn't really paying attention as he walked, focusing more on just trying to keep himself from falling over, but still paying enough attention to not accidentally walk into the road.</p><p>Luckily there didn't seem to be any cars right now, but he would rather be safe and stay out of the road altogether just in case he did collapse.</p><p> </p><p>He had no idea what time it was. His phone battery had died awhile ago, and obviously he didn't have any way to charge his phone right now...not that that was necessarily a huge priority of his right now.</p><p> </p><p>He was tired and could barely keep his eyes open at this point, which definitely wasn't helping him at all.</p><p>He was barely paying attention to his surroundings at this point, which was rather dangerous since the last thing he needed was to trip and get hurt...even worse than he already was.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Is this even the right way?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly he felt so lost. He was pretty sure he was going back the same way he had come from, but he felt so disoriented.</p><p>He didn't understand why he suddenly felt like he was lost. He had gone from the park to the store dozens of times. He should know how to get there and back, especially because he had just come from the park.</p><p> </p><p>The scenery looked so familiar, yet he felt like he had never even been there before.</p><p>He was starting to worry that somehow he <em>had </em>managed to go the wrong way and get lost. He frantically looked around, but he couldn't even remember when he got to wherever he was right now. He thought he had only been walking for a few minutes, but for all he knew he had been walking for a lot longer than he remembered.</p><p>He suddenly felt scared. He couldn't see the store anymore, and he didn't see any signs of the park anywhere nearby. <br/>Since his phone was dead, he had absolutely no way of figuring out where he was right now. </p><p> </p><p>"M-maybe...maybe I should just keep walking..? Maybe the park is just a little farther away..?" He spoke quietly to himself, hoping he could calm himself down before he got <em>too </em>scared.</p><p>He slowly started walking again, though he still had his doubts on whether or not he was actually going the right way.</p><p> </p><p>"Please...please let this be the right way..."</p><hr/><p>"Man...this walk feels a lot longer at night..." Ichigo sighed. During the day it felt like it only took a few minutes to get to the store, but at night it felt...so much longer.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Maybe it's because no one else is around...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo thought about just turning around and going home since he didn't actually need anything from the store, but for some reason he felt like he <em>had </em>to keep going. </p><p>He felt like he needed to keep walking, but he didn't know why. He didn't feel like he was in danger, so he didn't think this feeling was because he was being followed or something.</p><p>He decided to just go with it. Even if it turned out it was nothing, he could still just buy something from the store.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo walked at a somewhat fast, steady pace. He wasn't necessarily in a rush, but he also didn't want to stay out <em>too </em>long since it was already late and he should probably get to bed soon.</p><p>He pulled out his phone again, checking his notifications and the time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>1:56 AM</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>He still hadn't received a response from Toshiro, but with how late it was he assumed he was probably asleep by now.</p><p>He sighed once again, putting his phone back into his pocket.</p><p> </p><p><strong> <em>I </em> </strong> <em>should be asleep.</em></p><p> </p><p>Ichigo usually wouldn't stay up this late, but since his school was currently on break his sleeping habits had changed a bit.</p><p>Since Toshiro hadn't responded yet, he didn't have any plans for tomorrow...or technically later today, so he didn't really have to worry about waking up early.</p><p> </p><p>He yawned has he walked, starting to feel a bit tired. He wasn't paying the most attention to where he was going, but since it was so late he probably didn't have to worry about bumping into someone, right?</p><p> </p><p>Well...turns out he was wrong.</p><p> </p><p>While he was looking away, he <em>did </em>end up bumping right into someone, knocking them over as he did.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh shit, I'm so sorry." Ichigo apologized quickly, reaching a hand out to help them up. "Are you okay?"</p><hr/><p>Despite feeling like he was lost, Toshiro still couldn't keep himself focused on where he was going. He was too tired to pay attention.</p><p>He had continued walking, hoping that he would see <em>something </em>familiar soon. He hated how lost he felt.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What if I'm getting farther away? What if this <strong>is </strong>the wrong way? What if I collapse? What if I never find my way back?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He was so distracted by his thoughts that he ended up walking directly into someone, completely losing his balance and falling over as he did.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh shit, I'm so sorry." A familiar voice apologizes quickly while reaching their hand out to him. "Are you okay?"</p><p>Toshiro completely froze. He knew that voice, and he knew it well.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What the hell...is he doing here..?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He wondered if this was a blessing or a curse.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you okay?" He asked again, crouching down next to Toshiro.</p><p>"...Kurosaki-san..." Toshiro raised his head slightly to look at him.</p><p>"Huh? Toshiro? What the hell are you doing out here? Are you okay?" Ichigo asks again, placing his hand on Toshiro's shoulder.</p><p>"Y-yeah, I'm okay. I'm sorry for walking into you." Toshiro apologized.</p><p>"<em><strong>I </strong></em>should be apologizing to you. I mean, I knocked you over..." He trailed off. "Uh, do you need help getting up?" </p><p> </p><p>Ichigo stood up, his hand extended out to Toshiro. </p><p>Toshiro hesitated for a moment before grabbing Ichigo's hand.</p><p>Ichigo pulled Toshiro up to his feet, but his legs could barely support his weight at this point. He collapsed against Ichigo's chest, Ichigo's arms quickly wrapping around Toshiro to hold him up.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Ichigo asks yet again, clearly concerned about Toshiro.</p><p>"Y-yeah...sorry..." He apologized again, attempting to stand on his own but ultimately failing.</p><p>"Are you sure? You don't seem okay..." Ichigo says while still holding Toshiro close to himself.</p><p>"Yeah...just tired..." Though it was true that Toshiro was tired, he was sure that Ichigo could tell that this was more than him just being tired.</p><p>"I...Okay. Do you want to come spend the night at my house? Or do you want me to help you back to your house or something?" Ichigo asks. He was absolutely not convinced that Toshiro was okay, but he wasn't going to push on it. He would much rather have Toshiro be safe, and if he kept asking he knew that there was a high chance that Toshiro would completely shut him out.</p><p>"Umm....I don't want to be an inconvenience. I can get back home on my own, thank you for offering though." Toshiro says, despite the fact that he had absolutely no plan on returning home.</p><p>"Toshiro, I can absolutely promise you that I'll never see you as an inconvenience. And uh, not sure if you've noticed, but I'm still holding you up..." Ichigo says, his arms still wrapped securely around Toshiro. "Can you even stand on your own?"</p><p>".....I-I'll figure it out." He honestly had no idea what to do, and he honestly wasn't sure why Ichigo was still holding onto him. Ichigo could have just helped him sit back down on the sidewalk, but for some reason he decided it was better to pretty much just...hug him.</p><p>"Toshiro...please just let me help you...I wont ask you what happened or why you're even out here right now, okay? I just want to make sure you're safe, and there's no way that I would feel okay leaving you out here like this." Ichigo was determined to help Toshiro, whether he liked it or not. He would not leave him alone at night when he couldn't even walk.</p><p>"...Fine." Toshiro accepted defeat. He knew Ichigo wasn't going to back off, and he was too tired to fight him on this. "Can we go back to your house..?"</p><p>"Yeah, of course. Do you think you could walk if you used me for support? Or do you want me to carry you?" He asks. Ichigo honestly didn't feel like Toshiro could walk since he couldn't even stand if he wasn't holding him up, but he still wanted to give him the choice.</p><p>"...Honestly, I think it would be faster and easier to have you carry me...if you don't mind." Toshiro didn't really want to ask him to carry him, but he was cold, tired, and his body was sore. He just wanted to sit down.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo nodded and picked Toshiro up bridal style, which he was not expecting. Toshiro had assumed that Ichigo would carry him on his back, but he obviously wasn't going to complain since Ichigo was already being so kind to him.</p><hr/><p>When Ichigo first wrapped his arms around Toshiro, he had immediately noticed how cold Toshiro felt.</p><p>Though it wasn't unusual for his body to feel colder than most people, it definitely felt like he had been out in the cold for awhile.</p><p>Ichigo held him close, hoping he could keep Toshiro even just a tiny bit warmer while they spoke.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo picked Toshiro up bridal style without even thinking about it. He knew he could carry him on his back instead, but his house wasn't too far away and Toshiro wasn't heavy so he didn't think it mattered.</p><p>..............</p><p>..............</p><p>..............</p><p> </p><p>He finally arrived back at his house, but was unable to unlock the door while still carrying Toshiro, so he had to try to hold Toshiro up while unlocking the door.</p><p>He stepped inside with Toshiro, closing and locking the door behind them. He sat Toshiro down on the floor so they could both remove their shoes before continuing further into the house.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo sat Toshiro's shoes next to his by the door before picking him back up.</p><p> </p><p>He carried Toshiro up to his room, and after stepping into his room and turning on the light, he realized something he hadn't noticed when he first saw him.</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro had a huge bruise on his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo wanted to ask what had happened, but he had already told Toshiro he that he wouldn't ask.</p><p>"I'll go get some extra blankets and pillows for you." He says while gently sitting Toshiro down on the bed.</p><p>"Mm, thanks..." He says while stifling a yawn.  He rubbed his eyes, and Ichigo could tell how close Toshiro was to falling asleep.</p><p> </p><p>Truthfully, Ichigo wouldn't mind if Toshiro slept on his bed. Ichigo would be perfectly fine sleeping on the floor or even sharing the bed with him, but he knew Toshiro probably wouldn't allow either of those things.</p><p>Ichigo was trying to make sure that Toshiro wouldn't feel like an inconvenience--though he knew there was nothing he could do to fully prevent that--but it was rather difficult to figure out the best way to approach things. He felt like whether or not he went out of his way to make Toshiro feel comfortable, he would still feel like an inconvenience.</p><p> </p><p>He wished that there was some way for him to get Toshiro to believe him when he said he wasn't an inconvenience, but he wasn't sure how. He really did enjoy spending time with Toshiro, and he never had considered Toshiro an inconvenience--and he probably never will.</p><p>Hell, Toshiro could ask him to walk halfway across the world for him and he <em>still</em> wouldn't consider him an inconvenience.</p><p> </p><p>Ichigo pulled out a few spare pillows and blankets from the closet--which were luckily pretty easy to get to since they had just been used a few days ago.</p><hr/><p>Toshiro sat on Ichigo's bed, waiting for him to return while doing his best to stay awake. He felt even more tired the second they got inside, but maybe that was just because he felt like he could let his guard down.</p><p>The Kurosaki house...is probably the only place in the world that he actually feels <strong><em>safe</em></strong>. He actually <em>trusts </em>everyone in the Kurosaki family--Even though he mainly only talks to Ichigo.</p><p>He was extremely grateful to Ichigo for always allowing him to come over, no matter what time it was. Though he did feel guilty whenever he asked to come over since he wasn't sure if Ichigo actually <em>wanted </em>him to come over, or if he was just saying it was okay because he didn't want to say no to him.</p><p>He felt...weirdly safe around Ichigo.</p><p>He didn't necessarily like how much he trusted Ichigo--He was scared that trusting people would only lead to him getting hurt.</p><p>He didn't want to be hurt by Ichigo. He could deal with having almost everyone in the world hate him, he could deal with almost everyone in the world betraying him, but he couldn't handle losing Ichigo.</p><p>Toshiro wasn't even sure why. He didn't talk to Ichigo about anything personal, Ichigo didn't know almost anything about him, but Toshiro just couldn't stand the thought of having Ichigo leave him.</p><p>Maybe that's why he's too scared to ask Ichigo for help.</p><p>He was scared that Ichigo would look at him differently--treat him differently if he knew about...well, anything that he was dealing with.</p><p>Though at this point Toshiro didn't even know if it was worth it to keep everything a secret.</p><p>If he told Ichigo, there was a chance Ichigo wouldn't even believe him, that Ichigo would this he was weak...disgusting...broken...so many things could go wrong.</p><p>If he didn't tell him, there was a chance that Toshiro wouldn't even make it to the end of the year.</p><p>He didn't know what to do. Telling Ichigo seems like the obvious option, but what if he didn't believe him? What if he ended up losing one of his only friends <strong>and </strong>he didn't even get out of his current situation?</p><p>....Not that there's any guarantee that Ichigo would even be able to help him get out...</p><p>But even if Ichigo couldn't get him out, he could still help him...</p><p>...</p><p>Toshiro wasn't even sure if he could tell Ichigo. Just thinking about it made him anxious.</p><p> </p><p>He sighed.</p><p> </p><p>Toshiro just wanted to go to sleep.</p><p>He didn't even care about the snack he bought anymore, he could always eat in the morning.</p><p>...</p><p>He wanted Ichigo to come back.</p><p>He knew Ichigo had left to get him pillows and blankets, so he didn't want to be so impatient, but he just wanted to stop thinking about all of this stuff.</p><p>Ichigo had an incredible way of clearing his mind, even if he doesn't mean to.</p><p>Just being around Ichigo was enough to give Toshiro some peace of mind.</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p>A few minutes later, Ichigo returned to his room. </p><p>He hadn't been gone that long, it had just felt like it had been longer than it had actually been because Toshiro was trying to keep himself awake.</p><p>Toshiro watched as Ichigo spread the blankets out on the floor. The blankets didn't offer too much cushioning, but it was better than nothing and Toshiro definitely wasn't going to complain. Hell, Ichigo could have just left him outside and he still would have been grateful.</p><hr/><p>"I think that should be good enough for now..." Ichigo says while putting the pillows down. "We can make this more comfortable for you later...depending on how long you stay I guess." Ichigo laughed lightly.</p><p>"You look really tired so I just wanted to get something set up for you quickly..." Ichigo says while gently picking Toshiro up and carrying him over to the blankets on the floor.</p><p>"Thank you very much..." Toshiro says quietly, barely able to pay attention to what Ichigo was saying.</p><p>"Mhm, no problem." Ichigo smiled at him softly.</p><p>"Goodnight Kurosaki-san.." Toshiro laid down and pulled the blanket up so it was nearly covering his head.</p><p>"Goodnight Toshiro."</p><p>Ichigo turned the light off and sat down on his bed.</p><p>Ichigo felt...somewhat conflicted. On one hand, he was happy to have Toshiro here, but on the other, he was worried about <em>why </em>Toshiro was here.</p><p>He was worried about why Toshiro had been out so late, he was worried about why Toshiro is so tired that he couldn't even stand, he was worried about why Toshiro had a bruise on his cheek...</p><p>He was worried about Toshiro.</p><p>He plugged his phone in and laid down on his bed.</p><p>...</p><p>Ichigo closed his eyes and found himself easily drifting off to sleep...finding comfort in the fact that Toshiro was only a few feet away from him.</p><p>He would do anything to protect Toshiro, but it's hard to protect him if he doesn't know what's hurting him.</p><p>At least he knows Toshiro is safe for now...</p><hr/><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ya boy hasn't seen/read Bleach in years! LMAO<br/>I am sorry if they r suuuuper ooc<br/>(I can already tell I didn't do best boy Toshiro right LMAO)</p><p>Also I do not read over my shit before I publish it so imma just hope for the best LMAO</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>